Sliding door track structure

ABSTRACT

A split-tubular track structure to receive carriage means for suspending sliding doors from a wall of a building and brackets for mounting the track on a building wall above a door opening. Preferably the brackets have fastening flanges parts of which overlie a horizontal surface of the building wall so as to be mounted by nails driven through the horizontal surface, track flanges on the brackets have depending headed studs which slidably engage a line of keyhole slots in the upper part of the track for quick mounting of the track on the brackets, and means are provided for preventing the track from moving relative to the brackets. For outdoor use the bracket track flanges extend downwardly and outwardly from the track, and a continuous shield has its upper edge portion secured to the building wall and its lower edge portion folded around the outer ends of the track flanges. Firm contact between an intermediate portion of the shield and the tops of the track flanges bows the shield to damp vibration and to give the shield a smooth surface appearance.

United States Patent [451 Jan. 25, 1972 Ferris, deceased 154] SLIDING DOOR TRACK STRUCTURE [72] lnventor: Robert G. Ferris, deceased, late of Harvard, 111.

[73] Assignee: Starllne, lnc., Harvard, 1]].

[22] Filed: Nov. 14, 1969 I21] Appl. No.: 876,875

[52] U.S.Cl ..l6/94, 16/92, 16/102, 248/242 [51] Int. Cl. ..A47h 15/00 [58] Field ofSearch ..l6/90,91,92,96, 94, 103, 16/87, 87.2; 248/242, 243, 244, 223, 224; 24/222, 223; 49/408, 410, 412, 425, 411; 160/14, 38

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 436,473 9/1890 Converse 446,103 2/1891 Scranton and Scranton.

768,137 8/1904 McCabe 923,706 6/1909 Richey and Crites ..l6/103 X 1,462,303 7/1923 Deserty ..16/87.2 2,246,457 6/1941 Schultz... ..248/225 2,706,521 4/1955 Nelson ..160/38 Attorneyl-lofgren, Wegner, Allen, Stellman & McCord [57] ABSTRACT A split-tubular track structure to receive carriage means for suspending sliding doors from a wall ofa building and brackets for mounting the track on a building wall above a door opening. Preferably the brackets have fastening flanges parts of which overlie a horizontal surface of the building wall so as to be mounted by nails driven through the horizontal surface. track flanges on the brackets have depending bended studs which slidably engage a line of keyhole slots in the upper part of the track for quick mounting of the track on the brackets, and means are provided for preventing the track from moving relative to the brackets. For outdoor use the bracket track flanges extend downwardly and outwardly from the track, and a continuous shield has its upper edge portion secured to the building wall and its lower edge portion folded around the outer ends of the track flanges. Firm contact between an intermediate portion of the shield and the tops of the track flanges bows the shield to damp vibration and to give the shield a smooth surface appearance.

8 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures i 12 1111 K 118 P 1' JP 7 PATENTH! JAN 25 i972 SHEET 1 OF 2 PATENTEU was $72 ME? 2 BF 2 SLIDING noon TRACK STRUCTURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many industrial and farm buildings at the present time are erected with wood frames on which prepainted sheet steel wall and roof panels are mounted, and a drive-in entrance to the building is closed by a track-hung sliding door.

A horizontal track plank is mounted on the wall above the door opening, and a split-tubular door track, which may be annular or square, has a line of brackets by means of which it is secured to the track plank. In some cases the brackets are riveted to the top of the track, in which event it is awkward to support the track while the brackets are nailed or screwed to the track plank; while in other cases the brackets may be mounted first and the track is then bolted to the brackets, and in this event it is even more awkward to support the track while it is being bolted in place.

Hanging the track is somewhat simplified if riveted brackets have a fastening flange which overlies the top of the track plank so the mounting nails may be driven into the top of the plank instead of having to align the brackets along the face of the plank.

Furthermore, the vast majority of such door track is hung outdoors where it is desirable to provide a shield that fastens to the building wall above the track plank and extends outwardly and downwardly so as to conceal and protect the track, the top of the door, and the door hangers which project through the track split. It is simple to nail the upper edge portion of the shield to the building wall above the track plank, but any adequate shield mounting requires that the lower edge portion of the shield be secured in some way.

Some prior art structures have been built with a continuous bracket that serves as a mounting means and has its outer portion extended downwardly and forwardly to form a shield. This, however, is quite heavy and hard to mount. Another expedient has been to provide the split tubular track with an integral skirt that extends from the front margin of the track split downwardly and forwardly to conceal the hangers and the top of the door. This leaves the brackets and track surface exposed, and detracts from the appearance of the building.

Each of the foregoing arrangements is unsatisfactory for use on buildings made with prepainted panels, because the heavy gauge steel which must be used for the track and bracket is not available in prepainted stock; so it is necessary to use galvanized stock which detracts from the appearance of the building. Painting after fabrication provides a less durable surface covering, and it is very difficult to match the prepainted wall panels accurately.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides track which is easier to hang than any heretofore available, it is less expensive than that which has either a continuous bracket forming a shield or an integral track skirt, and the shield may be made from light gauge prepainted stock and may be easily mounted because its lower edge portion is folded into a thin U-shaped section which embraces a downwardly and fonvardly extending portion of each bracket.

The track arrangement utilizes a line of keyhole slots along the top of the track, and loose brackets are provided with integral, depending, headed studs which cooperate with the keyhole slots to hang the track from the brackets. In order that the track will be solidly anchored relative to the brackets, one or two keyhole slots are oriented oppositely from the rest of the slots so that when the stud is in such a reversely oriented keyhole it looks the track against movement relative to the brackets in one direction, while the remaining studs engaging their respective keyholes lock it against movement in the other direction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a typical farm or industrial building on which the track structure of the present invention may be used;

bracket, a top of a track board on the front of a building, and' in section a portion of the shield;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially as indicated along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 with a portion of the bracket broken away and the entire shield illustrated in section;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but illustrating a modified type of bracket;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view like FIGS. 3 and 4, but illustrates a modification of the bracket of FIG. 4 where the track is to be hung indoors and requires no shield;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5, but illustrates an indoor modification of the bracket of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a broken plane view of a single length of track, illustrating the keyhole slot for hanging the track on the brackets;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken substantially as indicated along the line 88 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is a broken plan view similar to FIG. 7, illustrating a modified form of track in which the keyhole slots are oriented circumferentially rather than longitudinally of the track.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings in greater detail, and referring first to FIG. 1, a building B includes a front wall F provided with a drive-in opening that is closed by a pair of sliding doors D which are suspended from a track assembly, indicated generally at 10, mounted on the front of the building.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, a track plank P is secured to the front wall F of the building above the top line of the drive-in opening and is twice as long as the width of the opening so that the track assembly 10 may be long enough for the doors D to slide back on both sides of the opening and completely expose the latter. Mounted at intervals along the track plank P are hanger brackets, indicated generally at 11, which cooperate to support a split tubular track, indicated generally at 12, within which a plurality of spaced, wheeled carriages C are rollingly carried to support the doors D as seen in FIGS. 3 to 6 and 8.

Each hanger bracket 11 includes a fastening flange 13 which overlies the track plank and is fastened by means of a ring nail 14 extending into the top edge of the plank, a track flange 15, and a headed stud, indicated generally at 16. As best seen in FIG. 3, the track flange 15 has an inner end portion 17 which is positioned above the track between the track plank and the vertical median plane of the track, and an outer end portion 18 which has a lower extremity a substantial distance below the lowermost portion of the track and farther from the building wall than any portion of the track, so that said lower extremity is positioned outside the upper end portion of the door D. The inner end portion 17 of the track flange 15 is provided with a pair of upturned marginal ribs 19 which extend from the outer margin of the fastening flange 13 to a point a short distance outwardly of the stud 16.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 3 and 8, the stud 16 is basically a specialized rivet which has an attaching head 20 overlying the track flange l5 and a pin 21 which extends through a hole in the track flange. Beneath the track flange is a shank 22 and at the outer end of the shank is a head 23. The space between the under surface of the track flange 15 and the upper surface of the head 23, which is determined by the length of the shank 22, is very slightly greater than the thickness of the split-tubular track 12, so that the top portion of the annular track wall 24 may make an easy sliding fit between the track flange l5 and the stud head 23.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 7 and 8, a track 12 is seen to have the bottom of its cylindrical wall 24 split longitudinally at 25 along the vertical median plane of the track, and at the top of the wall 24 opposite the split 25 is a line of keyhole slots 26 each of which has a long dimension extending longitudinally of the track with a small diameter portion 27 and a large diameter portion 28. Close to the left-hand end of the track as seen in FIG. 7 is a keyhole slot 26a which is like the keyhole slots 26 except that its small diameter portion 27a and its large diameter portion 28a are reversely oriented with reference to those of the other keyhole slots in the track. The small diameter portion 27 or 27a of a keyhole slot is slightly wider than a stud shank 22 but slightly narrower than the diameter of a stud head 23; while the diameter of the large diameter portion 28 or 280 of each keyhole slot is slightly greater than that of the stud head 23. The keyhole slots 26 and 26a are spaced at equal distances from one another along the track 12, so that the keyhole slots may be interengaged with the studs 16 on the brackets 11. At each end of the track 12, and aligned with the keyhole slots, are open ended slots 29 to accommodate splice collars as in my US. Pat. No. 2,513,088.

A length of track may conveniently be 10 feet long with the reversely oriented keyhole slot 26a located one foot from the left-hand end of the track and the keyhole slots 26 placed at two foot intervals along the track.

When a 10 foot length of track is to be mounted on a track plank P a bracket 11 is secured to the track plank one foot to the right of the desired location of the left-hand end of the track. The keyhole slot 26a is then engaged with the stud 16 on said bracket 11 and the track is pushed to the left until the right-hand end of the small diameter portion 27a of the keyhole slot 26a abuts the shank 22 of said stud. A bracket 11 may then have its stud 16 engaged with the keyhole slot 26 which is nearest the right-hand end of the track 12, with the shank 22 of said stud 16 abutting the left-hand end of the small diameter portion 27 of the keyhole slot 26, and said bracket 11 at the right-hand end of the track may then be secured to the track plank by means of a ring nail 14. With said two brackets in place at the two ends of the track 12, the track is held against endwise movement in either direction, and it is a simple matter to mount the intermediate brackets 11 by engaging their studs 16 with the keyhole slots 26 in the track and securing their fastening flanges on top of the track plank by means of the ring nails 14.

Referring again to FIGS. 2 and 3, when a track 12 is to be mounted outdoors as seen in FIG. 1 a continuous shield 30 which may be fabricated either of preenamelled light gauge metal or of a rigid, high-impact thermoplasitc material, is secured to the front wall F of the building and to the hanger brackets 11 by sliding a folded lower edge portion 31 into engagement with the lower ends of the hanger portions 18, while an upright top border portion 32 is fastened to the front building wall F by screws 33. To prevent the shield 30 from vibrating, which may cause objectionablenoise in a high wind, and also to give the shield a smooth surface appearance free from high lights, dimples, or tendency to .oil can" the shield from its lower end portion 31 to an intermediate area 34 is smoothly bowed by continuous contact with the lower portions 18 of the hangers, and by having its upper portion bear upon the forward edges of the hanger mounting flanges 13 at 35.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the structure is identical with that of FIG. 3 except that the hanger brackets, indicated generally at 111, have an upright fastening flange 113 which is secured to the front surface of the track plank P by ring nails 14, and a track flange 1 has headed studs 1 16 which are identical with those in the hanger brackets 11. Since all the elements of the combination illustrated in FIG. 4 with the exception of the hanger brackets 111 are identical with those of the form illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the remaining components are given the same reference numerals as they have in FIG. 3, and are not described in detail here.

When a door is to be hung indoors, the shield 30 may be omitted, and under those circumstances the hanger brackets may be as illustrated in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6. Referring first to FIG. 5, a hanger bracket 211 is similar to the hanger bracket 111 of FIG. 4 but the lower portion 118 is omitted. The hanger bracket 211 has an upright fastening flange 213 which is fastened to the track plank P by ring nails 14, and a track flange 215 has headed studs 216 which are identical with the headed studs 16 illustrated in FIG. 3.

omitted; so in this instance there is a hanger bracket 311 which has a horizontal fastening flange 313 fastened to the top of a track plank P by ring nails 14. The hanger bracket 31] has a track flange 315 which is identical with the track flange 215 illustrated in FIG. 5, and a headed stud 316 is identical with the headed studs 16 of FIG. 3, 116 of FIG. 4 and 216 of FIG. 5.

The brackets illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 6 are somewhat easier to mount than are the brackets of FIGS. 4 and 5, since it is easier to hang a horizontal flange over the top of the track plank and hold it in place while a nail 14 is driven into the plank than it is to position a hanger bracket such as the bracket 1 11 or 211 with its upright fastening flange against the front of the track plank while the nail 14 is driven into the plank.

FIG. 9 illustrates an alternative form of track 112 which is identical with the track 12 except for the fact that the keyhole slots are oriented with their long dimension extending circumferentially with respect to the track rather than longitudinally. Thus, keyhole slots 126 have portions 127 of small diameter and portions 128 of large diameter, with the long dimension of each keyhole slot extending circumferentially of the track; and reversely oriented keyhole slots 126a adjacent the two ends of the track have their portions of smaller diameter 127a longitudinally aligned with the small diameterportion 127 of the keyhole slots 126, while the large diameter portions 128a of the keyhole slots 126a are on the opposite side of the vertical median plane of the track from the large diameter portions 128 of the keyhole slots 126. Thus, as in the form of FIG. 7, all the portions of small diameter of all the keyhole slots are aligned longitudinally with respect to the vertical median plane of the track, and the large diameter portions 1280 of the keyhole slots 126a are so positioned with respect to the small diameter portions 127a that those portions are reversely oriented with reference to said portions of the slots 126.

In mounting a track of the type illustrated in FIG. 9, hanger brackets are mounted on the track plank spaced by a distance which is equal to the space between the keyhole slot 126a at the left-hand end of the track and the keyhole slot 126a at the right-hand end of the track, and said keyhole slots 126a are engaged with the studs of the hanger brackets so that the shanks of the studs are abutting the bottoms of the small diameter key-hole portions 127a. This holds the track in a stable position while the remaining hanger brackets are engaged with the keyhole slots 126 and secured to the track plank. Preferably a hanger bracket near the middle of the track is the third one to be mounted and the engagement of the bracket studs with the small diameter portions of the oppositely oriented keyhole slots 126 and 1260 locks the track against rotation.

The foregoing detailed description is given for cleamess of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A track structure for suspending sliding doors from a wall of a building, said structure comprising, incombination:

a tubular track having a sidewall with a continuous longitudinal split in its lowermost portion so that door suspending carriage means may be carried in the track and have depending door hanger members extending through the split to suspend a door below the track, said track having a line of spaced keyhole slots remote from said split, each of said keyhole slots having a long dimension with a small diameter portion, and a large diameter portion, and all of said small diameter portions being aligned with one another along the length of the track;

a plurality of hanger brackets each of which includes a fastening flange fixed to a wall of a building, and a track flange;

a stud mounted on and projecting from each track flange,

each said stud having a shank permanently and rigidly affixed to the track flange, the diameter of each shank being less than that of the small diameter portion of a keyhold slot, and a head at the outer end of the shank the diameter of which is greater than that of the small diameter portion and less than that of the large diameter portion of a slot, said track having its keyhole slots engaged with the studs so that each stud head is within the track and each shank impales the small diameter portion of a slot, and said track sidewall making a sliding fit between the track flange and the stud head; 4

a small number, not less than one, of said keyhole slots having its large diameter and small diameter portions reversely oriented with reference to said portions of the remainder of said line of keyhole slots, said reverse orientation providing means for preventing movement of the track relative to the brackets.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which the keyhole slots are oriented with their long dimensions extending longitudinally of the track, and in which a reversely oriented slot is immediately adjacent one end of the track.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which the keyhole slots are oriented with their long dimensions extending circumferentially of the track, and in which there are two reversely oriented slots on opposite sides of the transverse median plane of the track.

4. The combination of claim 1 in which the centers of the aligned small diameter portions of the keyhole slots are 180 from the center line of the split in the track.

5. The combination of claim 1 in which the fastening flanges of the brackets include upright portions, and fastening means impale said upright flange portions and extend into the building wall through a vertical wall surface.

6. The combination of claim 1 in which the fastening flanges of the brackets include upright portions abutting a vertical surface of a building wall and terminal portions perpendicular to said upright portions which overlie a horizontal surface of the building wall, and in which fastening means impale said terminal portions and extend into said wall through said horizontal surface.

7. The combination of claim 1 in which the track flanges of the brackets have inner ends which are positioned above the track between the building wall and a vertical plane along the center of the track split and outer ends which are positioned substantially below the lowermost portion of the track and farther from the building wall than any part of the track, and in which a separate continuous shield of thin gauge sheet material has a lower end portion secured to the outer ends of the bracket track flanges and a secured upper end portion abutting the building wall above the bracket mounting flanges.

8. A track structure for suspending sliding doors from a wall of a building, said structure comprising, in combination:

a tubular track having a sidewall with a continuous longitudinal split in its lowermost portion so that door suspending carriage means may be carried in the track and have depending door hanger members extending through the split to suspend a door below the track;

a plurality of hanger brackets each of which includes a fastening flange fixed to a wall of a building and a track flange that has an inner end which is positioned above the track between the building wall and a vertical plane along the center of the track split, and each said track flange having an outer end which is positioned substantially below the lowermost portion of the track and farther from the building wall than any part of said track;

fastening means impaling the upper portion of the track and also impaling each said bracket track flange to rigidly secure the track to the brackets;

separate shield means of thin gauge sheet material which is at least as long as the track and overlies the brackets and track, said shield means having a lower end portion folded around the outer ends of the bracket track flanges, having an intermediate portion which bears upon a part of the track structure to damp vibration of the shield, and having an upper end portion abutting the building wall above the brackets; and means securing the upper end portion of the shield to the building wall. 

1. A track structure for suspending sliding doors from a wall of a building, said structure comprising, in combination: a tubular track having a sidewall with a continuous longitudinal split in its lowermost portion so that door suspending carriage means may be carried in the track and have depending door hanger members extending through the split to suspend a door below the track, said track having a line of spaced keyhole slots remote from said split, each of said keyhole slots having a long dimension with a small diameter portion, and a large diameter portion, and all of said small diameter portions being aligned with one another along the length of the track; a plurality of hanger brackets each of which includes a fastening flange fixed to a wall of a building, and a track flange; a stud mounted on and projecting from each track flange, each said stud having a shank permanently and rigidly affixed to the track flange, the diameter of each shank being less than that of the small diameter portion of a keyhold slot, and a head at the outer end of the shank the diameter of which is greater than that of the small diameter portion and less than that of the large diameter portion of a slot, said track having its keyhole slots engaged with the studs so that each stud head is within the track and each shank impales the small diameter portion of a slot, and said track sidewall making a sliding fit between the track flange and the stud head; a small number, not less than one, of said keyhole slots having its large diameter and small diameter portions reversely oriented with reference to said portions of the remainder of said line of keyhole slots, said reverse orientation providing means for preventing movement of the track relative to the brackets.
 2. The combination of claim 1 in which the keyhole slots are oriented with their long dimensions extending longitudinally of the track, and in which a reversely oriented slot is immediately adjacent one end of the track.
 3. The combination of claim 1 in which the keyhole slots are oriented with their long dimensions extending circumferentially of the track, and in which tHere are two reversely oriented slots on opposite sides of the transverse median plane of the track.
 4. The combination of claim 1 in which the centers of the aligned small diameter portions of the keyhole slots are 180* from the center line of the split in the track.
 5. The combination of claim 1 in which the fastening flanges of the brackets include upright portions, and fastening means impale said upright flange portions and extend into the building wall through a vertical wall surface.
 6. The combination of claim 1 in which the fastening flanges of the brackets include upright portions abutting a vertical surface of a building wall and terminal portions perpendicular to said upright portions which overlie a horizontal surface of the building wall, and in which fastening means impale said terminal portions and extend into said wall through said horizontal surface.
 7. The combination of claim 1 in which the track flanges of the brackets have inner ends which are positioned above the track between the building wall and a vertical plane along the center of the track split and outer ends which are positioned substantially below the lowermost portion of the track and farther from the building wall than any part of the track, and in which a separate continuous shield of thin gauge sheet material has a lower end portion secured to the outer ends of the bracket track flanges and a secured upper end portion abutting the building wall above the bracket mounting flanges.
 8. A track structure for suspending sliding doors from a wall of a building, said structure comprising, in combination: a tubular track having a sidewall with a continuous longitudinal split in its lowermost portion so that door suspending carriage means may be carried in the track and have depending door hanger members extending through the split to suspend a door below the track; a plurality of hanger brackets each of which includes a fastening flange fixed to a wall of a building and a track flange that has an inner end which is positioned above the track between the building wall and a vertical plane along the center of the track split, and each said track flange having an outer end which is positioned substantially below the lowermost portion of the track and farther from the building wall than any part of said track; fastening means impaling the upper portion of the track and also impaling each said bracket track flange to rigidly secure the track to the brackets; separate shield means of thin gauge sheet material which is at least as long as the track and overlies the brackets and track, said shield means having a lower end portion folded around the outer ends of the bracket track flanges, having an intermediate portion which bears upon a part of the track structure to damp vibration of the shield, and having an upper end portion abutting the building wall above the brackets; and means securing the upper end portion of the shield to the building wall. 